Actor and filmmaker Saloni Chopra has criticised the new Amazon Prime Video film, Songs of Paradise, for casting her alleged abuser, actor Zain Khan Durrani. Saloni had first accused Zain of abuse in 2018 during the height of the MeToo movement in India. Zain appears in the new film, which released on the streaming platform last weekend.
Saloni Chopra slams Songs of Paradise
Days after the film’s release, Saloni took to Instagram to share a long note as a carousel post in which she recounted the alleged abuse she faced at the hands of Zain. She wrote how ‘he choked me while I sat helpless’ and ‘dragged me out of the house’. She detailed incidents of abuse and gaslighting, adding that she eventually went public after seeing he was doing it to other women. Saloni said that she received a ‘copy-pasted apology’ after her accusations.
“And yet today, He’s acting in an Amazon Prime film. Promoted. Praised. Polished into a man worth celebrating. So next time you wonder why women don’t speak? This is why,” she added.
Referring to the other actors in the film, Saloni added, “And here’s what’s confusing: Self-proclaimed feminists, actors who build careers on equality speeches, artists who hashtag justice and solidarity, they’re standing next to him. Working with him.” Songs of Pardise stars Saba Azad, Soni Razdan, and Sheeba Chaddha, apart from Zain.
Saloni said that while the accused continue to get work, the accusers have been sidelined. “But the many women who speak up are penalised. Women like myself, filmmakers trying to amplify women’s voices through film -struggle to get our work seen. While men who beat women get prime-time slots,” she further wrote.
Her note was titled: ‘Why does Bollywood keep working with abusive men?’
‘No point making feminist films’
Accompanying the note was a long caption that read: “There’s really no point in making feminist films like Songs of Paradise if we’re going to keep working with men that are pushing the movement back by 50+ years. I wrote an article about Zain Durrani a few years ago and at the time he was a nobody. I remember asking a journalist why she kept asking about Sajid and not about Zain, and she said ‘Babe, who the hell is that? Nobody cares about him…’ And maybe that’s what we collectively do as a Society? We hyper-fixate and we also forget. We run behind prime time stories without realising that we are capable of creating them. We ignore toxic men when it doesn’t concern us but then we are angry and appalled when it reaches the door steps of our homes. When it’s our sisters and wives. Then, we want justice. Even though we’re the ones actively creating opportunities for abusive men and environments where justice is impossible…”
Saloni Chopra’s accusations
In 2018, Saloni had accused Zain, with whom she had been in a relationship in the early 2010s, of violent physical abuse. In her post, Saloni mentioned that she braved the abuse but eventually broke up after he assaulted her in front of her brother. Zain eventually issued an apology after Saloni and other women accused him of physical and emotional abuse.
All about Zain Khan Durrani
Zain Khan Durrani made his acting debut in the 2018 film Kuchh Bheege Alfaaz, directed by Onir. He has since appeared in supporting roles in Shikara and Bell Bottom. His biggest claim to fame is starring in the 2022 Zee5 series, Mukhbir, which also starred Prakash Raj, Adil Hussain, Barkha Bisht, Harsh Chhaya, Satyadeep Mishra, Bijou Thaangjam and Zoya Afroz.
Songs of Paradise, Zain’s new film, is directed by Danish Renzu, and produced by produced by Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, and Shafat Qazi. The film premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 29 August.
